[Advaita-l] Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj (it is actually about mixing theory and practice)

[Siva Senani Nori]

Pukraj Singhji, praNAm!
> Just a word of caution. Please do not interleave intellectual arguments with
> actual experiences. It is unbecoming of the theorists, intellectuals and
> academicians in the list to imply their ideas to the realm of spiritual
> experiences by positing this or that happens, if and but, contradicting a
> notion by referring a piece of literature. 
- but, why!? Theorists and others must express ideas only if they relate to reality and the practical experience. Otherwise those ideas are not worth being expressed.
> Thought, speech and language
> suffer from the ultimate dichotomy and are the most imperfect expressions of
> absolutism, be it written by God or mortal. This duality between language
> and consciousness - arising due the expressionistic deficiencies of the
> former and the unfathomable abstractness of the latter can stray us,
> frustrate us, make us write. They are completely different worlds.

- I fully agree with you that concisousness is abstract and that it is difficult to grasp. Since it is difficult to define exactly, we try to describe something pointing to it, near to it, like it, an upalakshaNa. The answer is not withdrawal but an effort of better quality.

> I will advise the list members to stick to purely academic and overt
> pursuits and arguments thus preventing any bias or prejudice. If you have an
> experience, share it as experience and do not refer any kind of supportive
> literature how awesome it might be.

- By experience, if you mean stuff dealing with sookshma Sareera, Jonathan Livingston Seagull kind of manovega, parakAyapraveSa, or as I recently picked up hypnagogic or hypnopompic states, sleep paralysis, lucid dreams, awakening of kuNDalinee, acquisition of some siddhis and so on, I generally try to not bother myself too much with such "experiences" or their narrations, and I guess many in the list might; but that does not mean that others should not share such experiences or try to co-relate them with 'supportive literature'. I mean if anything, the stance which reads prejudice into such acts is definitely biased; and the attempt of the experiencers to corelate has the benefit of doubt.
Regards
Senani